So this is completely random, but I’ve been obsessing over this all day. You may have already heard the good news – we have a talking whale on our hands! As if millions of talking Americans weren’t enough, we now have this little (it’s all relative…right?) guy named Noc to converse with.

Say hi to Noc, please…

Just so you know what we’re dealing with here, take a listen:

Thank you, Noc for that wonderful imitation of what appears to be the Swedish Chef from the Muppets… (anyone?.. anyone?) Anyway, this beluga whale reportedly spent nearly 30 years at the National Marine Mammal Association in San Diego, CA. Researchers believe that his close proximity with us “land-dwellers” prompted Noc to begin mimicking patterns of human speech spontaneously. And I thought Free Willy was cool…

Not to be a downer, but Noc has since passed. It’s pretty unfair that this audio was just released recently. Poor Noc couldn’t even revel in his own groundbreaking glory. Alas, his legacy will surely live on. Future whales have some serious work to do to, now – tail flips and full body breaches just aren’t cutting it anymore.